Burial-casket covering.



H. MYERS. v

BURIAL GASKET GOVERING.

APPLICATION FILED 11.11.17, 1914.

Patented June 16, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

HEM? Y rE/ 5.

H. MYERS.

BURIAL GASKET covERING.

' APPLICATION FILED .TAN.17, 191.4. 1,100,392, Patented June 16, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH C0..wAs|-||NOTON, D. c.

HENRY MYERS, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

BURIAL-GASKET COVERING.

i ,iooaa Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Application filed. .T anuary 17, 1914. Serial No. 812,833.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY MYERS, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing atv Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Burial-Casket Coverings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in coverings for burial caskets.

It frequently happens that the temperature in graves, crypts and catacombs is very cold and often below the freezing point at certain times of the year, and because of the conditions this temperature is maintained for long periods and is oHensive to the sensibilities of many rened natures who do not like to contemplate the resting of their dead in such cold surroundings.

The object of this invention is to provide an outside covering within which the casket containing a body to be interred, is enveloped, and the burial is completed with the casket protected in this manner. The enveloping robe will be of material which is a non-conductor of heat and moisture, and which will preferably be as nearly air-tight as practicable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a casket envelop of the above character which will be neat in appearance and convenient in its use, not only at the time of interment of the body, but previously thereto in the transportation and handling of the casket covering. For this reason the device will be in hinged, or separable parts, which will enable it to be closed together in a compact form for transportation and Storage purposes when desired.

The object further is to provide a casket envelop of the above character for use in crypts and Catacombs in mausoleums, and for underground vaults, surface vaults and graves.

I accomplish the above and other objects which will hereinafter appear, by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section of a grave showing the casket enveloping box and casket-covering in vertical section. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the major portions of my improved covering opened out into flat positions; the back and one end being in vertical positions which show their edges in this view, and portions of back and top of the covering are broken away to illustrate the interior construction of said parts. Fig. 3 1s a View in side elevation of the coveringmembers in their knock-down or folded positions for transportation and storage. Fig. t is a longitudinal vertical section on the line 8 8 of Fig. 5 of my covering in operative position, without showing the crypt or casket. Fig. 5 isa transverse section of same on the line 9--9 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a section on a larger scale illustrating the composition of the walls of my improved casket-covering, and Fig. 7 is a side view of a three-leaf hinge used in connecting some of the folding parts of my casket-covering.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In mausoleum construction, the crypts which are provided therein for the reception of the caskets and bodies of the deceased sometimes have their means of access through their sides and sometimes through their ends, .and 'it is my purpose to provide casket-coverings which are adapted to be used with crypts having either of the above stylesof openings, and to manufacture my casket-coverings as a stock article to be used in any of the many mausoleums and other burial structures now in existence. I therefore provide my device with both side and end doors.

My improved casket-covering is substantially in the form of a closed rectangular boX with rigid walls in order to hold a given shape while the casket is being inserted in it. These walls will comprise cores 16, here shown as built up out of wooden veneers which are of the usual laminated structure to prevent warping. Glued or cemented to each side of the wooden cores 16 are sheets of paper or other suitable material 17, preferably waterproofed to exclude moisture from the wooden core and from the interior of the box. The core 16 may be formed out of binders boards or sheet metal if desired, but for lightness, rigidity and practical purposes I have found that the laminated wooden core is to be preferred. Secured to each surface 17 of the core, preferably by glue or cement, is a thick layer of felt 18 to serve principally as a non-conductor of heat and also to act as a gasket at the joints at the corners of the boX to make the latter uniformly tight. The top, bottom, sides and ends of the box-like casket-robe are built up out of the above described material.

The bottom 20 extends from side to side and end to end without extending under any of said parts, and the front side 21 and end 22 are connected with the bottom by means of three-leafed hinges 19 (see Fig. 7), the two pintles of which permit the front and end to fold up against the adjacent edges of the bottom 20, and to swing out clear and free of the frame of the crypt when opened, for the reception of the casket. The opposite end 23, back 241, and top 25 are all hinged together but are detachable as a whole from the parts 20, 21 and 22. The end Q3 is secured by two-leaf hinges 26 to the back 24k to permit it to be swung into Contact with the back 24 in the manner indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the top 25 is connected by three-leaf hinges 19 with the back 24 to permit said top to be conveniently nested for shipment and to be folded upon the box-like structure when assembled for use. The parts 211 and 25 are provided with screw-eyes 27 to receive hooks 28 on the corresponding parts 20, 21, 22 and 23 for the purpose of locking the parts in assembled box-form. The front side 21 and end 22 are provided with catches 29 to hold said parts in their closed position.

The construction as above described enables the several parts to be folded or nested together in knock-down form in the manner as illustrated in Fig. 3, making a compact and convenient package for storage and transportation.

Fig. 1 illustrates the manner in which my above described burial casket-covering is interposed between the grave boX 30 and casket 31 where the interment is in the ordinary dug grave and underground vault.

While I have described my invention with more or less minuteness as regards details of construction and arrangement and as being embodied in certain precise forms, I do not desire to be limited thereto unduly or any more than is pointed out in the claims. On the contrary, I contemplate all proper changes in form, construction, and arrangement, the omission of immaterial elements, and the substitution of equivalents, as circumstances may suggest or necessity render expedient- I claim:

1. A burial casket-covering comprising top, bottom, side and end members forming a complete closure, each member having a rigid core, three-leaf hinges connecting an edge of one or more of said members to an edge of an adjacent member, means for removably connecting one or more of the remaining edges adjacent to each other of said members, a moisture repelling coating covering and secured to both sides of each core n ember, and a layer of felt covering and secured to said moisture repelling coating of each core member.

2. A burial casket-covering comprising a bottom member, a side and an end member, the latter being connected by three-leaf hinges to the bottom member, a second side member removably secured to the bottom member, an end member hinged to fold in against t-he second side member and a top member connected by three-leaf hinges with said second side member, each member having a rigid core, a moisture repelling coating covering and secured to both sides of each core member, and a layer of felt covering and secured to said moist-ure repelling coating of each core member.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 8th day of January, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and fourteen.

HENRY MYERS. [Ls] Witnesses:

J. A. M INTURN, I. L. LARsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, 1D. C. 

